Coldeyes sat outside the camp, he was in charge of the entrance tonight. Many days had passed by now, snow covered the ground heavily and Coldeyes found himself happy he blended with it so well. Dapplepaw wanted to guard alongside his mentor, the young tom wanted to know what it was like to be on guard duty.
Coldeyes though turned him away, claiming it was too cold for him and he didn't want his apprentice to get sick. It had been a moon by now, as he thought back to training Dapplepaw when his apprenticeship had first started. He still hadn't gotten a growth spurt, and Coldeyes could only guess it would be another moon or so until he did grow more.
His ear twitched as he heard the ferns of the camp entrance shuffle. It was Cherryblossom and Greenpaw leaving camp together. The she-cat nearly jumped when she realized Coldeyes was there, rather then a pile of snow. He softly smiled at her reaction as Greenpaw gave his mentor a curious look.
"Ah, Coldeyes. Very nice to have seen you in such a.. similar terrain to your fur." She said with a brief smile as she began padding away. Coldeyes nodded in greeting, Greenpaw bowing his own head in response as he followed closely after the long legged she-cat through the growing snow. He had been expecting them to cross through the entrance at some point, the half moon was tonight and he knew Cherryblossom was eager to give Greenpaw his medicine cat name.
He watched their figures grow smaller and more obscure as they made the distance between them and the camp grow.
A few hours passed and Coldeyes knew dawn was close. His ear twitched though with suspicion as he heard something in the camp. It was soft, like a whisper. He couldn't understand the words but he knew someone was talking nearby. He rose and wandered closer to the entrance to try and hear it better.
As soon as he got close, the ferns parted and he saw Ambercloud looking up at him. Coldeyes gave her a curious look, but it soon turned to some form of worry as henoticed the concern deep within her eyes.
"Come with me." She said. Coldeyes nodded and followed his adoptive mother into the camp, and into Sandstar's den. He saw Sandstar, such an old tom with silver all throughout his pelt and his long whiskers, lying in his nest breathing shallowly.
Coldeyes was about to suggest running to get Cherryblossom fromthe moonpool, but Sandstar spoke up.
"Coldeyes..." He wheezed gently. "Coldeyes, I am going to die this dawn. I have been told of this day by Starclan many years ago.. Ambercloud has brought you to me..." The tom paused to catch his breath. Coldeyes watched him with concern, feeling wrong for not sprinting to retrieve Cherryblossom but if he said Starclan destined this, he was torn of what to do for his leader.
"Coldeyes, I was told by Starclan.." Another pause, "A bird will bring snow upon a clan of sand, and it would turn to ice. It would.. overcome the clan and rebirth it into a better clan." He finished quietly. Coldeyes hung onto every word of his dying leader. Ambercloud watched him with her caring but fierce eyes.
"You know what he is telling you." Ambercloud said. Coldeyes looked at her with bewilderment in his intense gaze. Sandstar coughed as his breathing grew even softer, if it were possible.
"Ambercloud, I can't take your position if that is what you're suggesting." Coldeyes said. Sandstar looked up at the white tom.
"Coldeyes, I want you to become Ambercloud's deputy. I know your secrets. Your heart is not frozen, it is your pelt that is cold. You are a valuable warrior to this clan, and your story as it has been written so far is what I want to be used as a symbol in our clan. Loyalty, love, and comfort. You are the shining gem I have always been able to admire in my clan. Please, if not my successor, become Ambercloud's deputy..." Sandstar said as his breathing slowly stopped. Coldeyes watched with sorrow as the old tom's spirit left to enter the stars.